Goaltending is a lot like
The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow and Tin Man
all had to keep their focus on the Yellow Brick Road as they fought off the
Wicked Witch’s distractions of flying monkeys, angry trees and the
witches spells. Keeping their focus they eventually made it to Oz.
Goalies face their own collection of distractions every time they
play a game. The goalie’s position has the simple goal of stopping
the puck. Sounds easy enough. Well, when you throw in all the
distractions that occur each and every game you play, it isn’t
always easy to simply “stop the puck”. The ability of a goalie to
concentrate on the job at hand while processing everything that is
going on around the ice will determine the goalie’s success or lack
thereof. Let’s look at some different distractions.

Rebounds: Rebounds are a
fact of life. How you control them or respond to them will determine
how good of a goalie you are. You should always expect to make the
original save and at least 2 rebound saves on the same play. Why
should you expect this? If you expect to make multiple saves,
mentally you stay with the puck no matter where it goes. If you put
“all of your eggs in one basket” by just concentrating on the
initial shot, you will mentally relax for a moment after the save
when you should have already been flowing into the new lane where
the puck has gone. I spend a lot of time reminding goalies about
turning their head, hands and back shoulder in the direction of
their initial save. Why is that important? Well, if your body does
not move squarely into the first save, you will be off-balance and
out of position for a rebound shot. Having great body control and
economy of movement will allow you to stay with the play and not be
out of position. When you practice, do you actually pay attention to
where you are putting your rebounds? If you don’t pay attention to
those details in practice are you surprised you have lousy rebound
control in games?

Screens: Opposing teams will
generally try to put big bodies in front of the goalie to distract
him or her from getting a clean look at the puck. Some goalies get
so preoccupied with clearing out the screen that they lose focus on
stopping the puck. It’s important to put your focus on the puck
first and the screen second while deciding how best to handle the
situation. Now, you may only have a few seconds to make your choice
so you must read the play to see what’s best. For example, if you
were late moving to the top of the crease, the opposing team’s
screening player may already be planted there and it is hard to move
them away. If you establish your ground early, at least you will be
at your best angle for a shot. Can you find little seams in the
collection of bodies that are in front of you that you can fill so
you get a better look at the puck? Should you stand taller to see
the puck at the point and then aggressively move into a butterfly or
paddle down play once you see where the shot is coming from? You
almost need to mentally take in the big picture of what’s going on
around you while staying focused on the puck.

Deflections: Deflections are
tricky because you must respect where the shot is coming from but
also be aware if you see sticks or legs that the puck may hit before
it gets to you. Try to avoid being flat-footed or gliding backwards
on shots that are coming through traffic. Gliding backwards or being
flat-footed will make it difficult to react to a last second tip and
your 5 Hole will be very hard to shut down because your weight is on
your heels. Be ready to explosively move towards the puck as it gets
closer to you to not only stop it if it’s not tipped, but also to
take away more space should someone get their stick on it. If you
are closer to the tip, it is less dangerous.

Lastly, remember
that you must be able to stay mentally calm no matter how much chaos
is going on around you!